A Tour Guides View Of The Florida Turtles

By: Glenn Wilsey, Sr.

Florida is a watery state that has countless lakes, ponds, swamps, rivers, streams and man made canals. So, you know you’re going to find turtles. In fact, there are more than ten different kinds of fresh water turtles in Florida. We have fresh water from the East Coast to the West Coast all the way south down to the Florida Bay. We also have marine (salt-water) turtles that frequently visit our sandy beaches (to lay eggs) and swim in the beautiful blue-green waters from the Atlantic Ocean all the way around to the Gulf of Mexico.

The fresh water turtles are:

The Spotted turtle, these turtles have a black upper shell with yellow or orange spots.

The Painted turtle, there are four types of painted turtles. These turtles have yellow streaks from their nose all the way down their throats and are found from the East Coast to the West Coast.

The Cooter turtle, this turtle (like most turtles) likes to bask in the sun. Basking warms the body temperature and dries up any algae or leeches that the turtles get while in the water.

The Slider turtle likes to be alone. They can be found in quiet areas where they can bask in the sun and not have to deal with people. When people do show up they slide into the water for safety.

The Musk turtle, a surprising little fellow that magically appears in your boat now and then. The little Musk turtle is a climber that sometimes climbs four or five feet into the trees. If you let your boat bump the trees you may have a Musk turtle bungi-jump into your boat (without the bungi cord though).

The Mud turtle looks like the Musk turtles but they are just a little bigger and they have a tan colored ring around their shells.

The Alligator Snapping turtles are meat eaters and can grow very big, indeed. They can also be very ill tempered.

The Soft-shell turtles are very elusive. They have a long, slender nose and when they want air all they have to do is stick their nose out of the water. You’ll almost never see them.

The marine turtles include:

The Hawksbill turtle, a beautiful turtle that is endangered because it is hunted for it’s beautiful shell.

The Green turtle is hunted for its meat but they rarely come to shore except to lay eggs.

The Leatherback turtle is the largest of the sea turtles weighing up to 1000 pounds and mainly feeding on jellyfish.

We do have some dry land in Florida and so, we also have some dry land turtles. They are:

The Eastern Box turtle and the Ornate Box turtle, which are found in open grass prairies throughout Florida. And, finally, we have one more land turtle and that is the Gopher tortoise. They live on the open grass prairies, where they dig tunnels up to30 feet long.

Just recently, I went to visit my friends, Jose and Kim at Billy Swamp Safari just north of Alligator Alley. While out on their swamp buggy, I saw the biggest Gopher tortoise I have ever seen.

In the Everglades it’s easy to find turtles. When looking for them, remember to move slowly and don’t make a lot of noise. When I want to observe turtles I drive west on US-41 to the cypress forest. Once I pass Loop Road, I just look for a place to park. While looking for turtles along US-41 take care to wear bright clothing, because you have to walk along the edge of the road. The Tamiami Canal parallels US-41, and that’s where the turtles are. They like to climb up on the rocks to sun themselves on the far shoreline. Most of the time, I see Red-bellied sliders, the occasional Soft-shell turtles and once in a while I see a small Cooter or two.

If you look in the water you might see an Alligator Snapping turtle (never go skinny-dipping around these bad boys). Or maybe you’ll see a Musk turtle. Remember, go slowly and be quiet. Once the turtle sees you it will slide into the water and be gone. Now that you know a little bit more about our turtles, you might want to head on out and see some for yourself. So long for now… Gatorman

NATURE RULES!!!

*This story or any part of it can not be used or reproduced with out written permission of the author!

Or Me At Gatorman1@aaof.us